Paper Boats
by Kazuyuki Mika
Summary: A message was sent, a rendezvous was arranged... but why? TetsuSaya. Possible OOC. [Or so do I think it might be.]


_Saya, _

_I'll meet you near the riverbanks by the time of the sunset._

_Tetsu._

She stared at the parchment and studied it well. The writings of hiragana with a mix of some kanji characters reflected and swirled like light-toned paint onto her eyes. Its surface looked rough yet smooth on her gentle touch. His scent—blood blended with the earth—was in everything that he owned and touched. It was his everlasting trademark to her senses. However, there was something that struck her at that moment. She had—no, she _knew_ she was forgetting something of great importance. She gave herself a minute to remember yet none came to mind.

"Saya, will you buy us some supplies for later?"

In such quick motion, she folded the piece of parchment and carried on to her duties. During the time of her usual chores, the message sent to her early this morning bustled through her mind. She wondered why would he meet her at the riverbanks and what business would he have with her. She knew that the Shinsengumi have been in unpredictable and active patrols and raids lately. Of course, she also knew that ever since he joined them, he had been much busier than her. Unlike him, she had some spare time on her hands. Still, no matter how much she tried, the rendezvous was a puzzle she couldn't solve.

"Why don't you take a break first?" A question from one of the geishas broke her trend of thought while she was fixing the sheets. She gave an uncertain look at her.

"I noticed you've been dazing out more than usual. I assume you have some business with the young man who passed by this morning." The geisha smiled while she glanced away as her cheeks colored itself with a shade of pink.

The older woman laughed teasingly. "You better head off now. It's almost dark." She stood up, bowed her head and left. At the moment, she could not describe what she was feeling. Her heart pounded rapidly and her pace became faster. She was excited yet scared of what will happen. She did not know what to expect. She just wanted to let go.

Under the shade of the oak tree, the sun slowly settled back into its blankets of red, violet, orange, blue and even with a hint of pink. Moon rose carefully into sight however, she wasn't ready to cast her mildness onto the land. She wanted to make sure the sun would see this beautiful sight. Continuous panting along with the clanking of wooden slippers from afar served as the tempo with the rustling of leaves in the wind as its percussion. It seemed as if the moon had whispered to the sun that the show has begun.

An elegance of aqua and white danced along with the breeze. The crimson of his hair played around the features of his solemn face. His composure seemed opposite from his usual playful self. By that, she was astounded and could not believe that it was him. She straightened herself after the long run. He turned to face her.

"Saya, sorry I couldn't meet you earlier," He said in a worried tone. "But, that's ok. Now we can do it." He smiled.

She slowly took his hand and traced what she wanted to say on his palm. "What are we going to do?" Her cold hand trembled. He noticed and looked straight in her eyes.

He brought out two pieces of parchments and showed it to her. "We're going to make paper boats." She was puzzled once more.

They both sat down under the oak tree and began on their paper boats. On Saya's point of view, she found it a little awkward for the both of them to be making paper boats. She knew they weren't kids anymore yet she still played along. Probably, for him, it was something fun to do. This suddenly refreshed her mind of the time when they used to do these kinds of things. The time nor the antics with him never tire her.

"Ready?" She looked at her finished paper boat then at him. His enthusiasm was written all over his face. He took her hand impulsively and led her near the river. This made her turn bright red as she followed the young boy down to the bank. When they reached it, she glanced at the water and watched their reflections intermingle with the other colors surrounding them. That was when she finally realized how much they've grown. _It has been years, _she thought.

She was about to place her boat on the calm waves of the river until he interrupted her. "Make a wish." She gazed into his eyes and smiled shyly. They gave each other a few moments to contemplate. Together, they allowed the current to guide their boats to wherever it might go.

"Do you remember? Today was the first time we met. If you think back, it's been a few years since. We've grown and changed a lot." She nodded but for her, he had never changed. Not even a single part of his attitude did. The moon had settled itself with its children shining brightly upon the two. They gave its blessing and smiled upon them and in return, she smiled back. Maybe, it was only her who noticed or he did too. However, at that instance, she had thought,

_Just like the paper boats sailing and holding our wishes, there'll be a moment when go back in time. If and when that happens, we will look back at it and smile._

**A/N: **Hallo, friends. I kinda screwed up on this considering that I finished it in the middle of the night then realized that I did screw up on it later on.


End file.
